The present invention relates to a process and an associated apparatus for the thermal regeneration of charged active coke or active carbon granulate, in which the granulate is heated within a heating zone in a travelling bed through direct loading by a heated partial stream of the expelled desorption gas.
A good heat transfer is attained in this process through the direct contact between the granulate and the heating gas. It is, however, disadvantageous that the desorption gas for its heating is diluted through the supply of a hot foreign gas and must therefore be concentrated before its further processing. Although the dilution is somewhat reduced by blowing a partial stream of the desorption gas after heating into the heating zone. Large volume streams must, however, be heated in this case.
It is also known how to regenerate activated carbon through indirect heating. Since the activated carbon in this case does not come into contact with the heating medium, a dilution of the desorption gas is avoided. On the other hand, the heat transfer is too unfavorable in this process.
The invention therefore again turns to the initially named process. It has the object of developing this process further in such a manner that the volume of the gaseous heating medium guided through the granulate heap is kept as small as possible.